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The CD series "El Bandoneón" (from Blue Moon) is a very good
edition that has made available a lot of good tango music to us, Europeans.
Unfortunately, there are some errors to be found in the accompanying documentation.
Does it mean that I am angry with Blue Moon ? Certainly not...
I only hope that the amendments presented here will be useful to those
who are interested in the history of tango and the stylistic evolution
of tango orchestras.
Blue Moon is not an exception, there are other labels, even Argentinian
ones, which have distributed poorly documented CDs, I have added some examples...
As I have written here before, I thought that Blue Moon never seemed very eager at promoting their series through Internet. Royce (from Hong Kong) has informed me (thanks !) that they do have a website : BlueMoon which will redirect you to freshsoundrecords . There is a "El Bandoneon" picture (that leads nowhere) but if you click on one of the CD covers (new releases, mostly not related to tango) you will get to a list of the labels among which you can select "El Bandoneón", and also "Maestros del Tango Argentino". "Las Grandes Orquestas del Tango", BMT 60x, and other more recent series are not listed as separate labels but can be accessed from the menu, under the "Maestros del Tango Argentino"-header.
Another catalogue that I know of, by a third party, can be found at milonga.co.uk.
It is also good to know that, in Argentina, Blue Moon is considered to be a "pirate" label and that they are convinced to have them out of business by now. I am not in a position to judge the first claim, and from what I see at the their website, and in local shops, I have doubts about the second. As late as 2003, El Bandoneón CDs were available in Buenos Aires (although the devaluation of the peso has made them very expensive there). An opposing point of view, by Mark Celaya, stating that Blue Moon acts according to Spanish and Swiss law can be found in a contribution to the Tango-L list.
If you want to contribute to this page, or, why not, correct the corrections,
feel free to write at tangoteca@pandora.be
A warm welcome to the first contributor : Mike Lavocah.
This page is dedicated to all the good friends at the "Cueva del Tango", and especially to the founder Peio, who made it all possible. I have learned so much there that without them this page would not have been possible.
Note: all dates are given in dd-mm-yyyy format.
Johan
07-2003 : EB4 (Charlo) - EB109
(Juan D'Arienzo)- EB123 (La Guardia Vieja)- EB128
(La Guardia Vieja)
08-2003 : EB34 (Miguel Caló)
10-2003 : EB27 (Azucena Maizani)
10-2003 : EB60 (Domingo Federico)
11-2003 : EB10 (Lucio Demare)
03-2004 : EB80 (Francisco Lomuto) - EB87
(Adolfo Carabelli)
09-2004 : EB3 (Quinteto Pirincho), contributed
by Mike Lavocah (milonga.co.uk)
11-2004 : EB82 (Pedro Laurenz)
01-2005 : EB110 (Angel D'Agostino &
Angel Vargas), contributed by Mike Lavocah
02-2005 : EB95 (Edgardo Donato)
(more will be coming...???)
| EB3 : Quinteto Pirincho, dirección
Francisco Canaro (1938)
Contributed by Mike Lavocah. "Grabado en Buenos Aires, 1938". Actually, there is not a single track
from 1938 on this excellent album. These are the correct recording dates:
Track 13 was a bit of a mystery at first as "Recuerdos" (a polca) is not listed in Lefcovich's collosal discography of Francisco Canaro (over 3700 entries). But according to the researcher Jorge Finkielman the Quinteto did record this piece; so it seems it's missing from the discography. Finally, before mid October 1940 the Quinteto Pirincho was known as
the Quinteto Don Pancho; tracks 6, 8 and 13 were thus recorded by this
earlier group.
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| EB4 : Charlo, con Francisco Canaro & Francisco
Lomuto (1928-1929)
Actually, this CD covers a larger period than claimed in the title :
1928-1937.
This is a typical week schedule for Charlo in those years : Monday (17-09-1928) : 5 tangos recorded with Canaro as "cantor" (°)
... and so it goes on and on ... The track description on the CD for the tangos with Lomuto (1928-1929,
tracks 14-18, all in "estribillista" style) seems right but there are some
doubts with the Canaro part. The revised chronology is based on the discography
of Charlo as published by Roberto Gutiérrez Miglio in "El Tango
y sus Intérpretes" (Ed. Corregidor, 1992-99, Bs As)
When relistened according to the revised chronology (track order : 4/6, 3/7/12/13, 9, 5/10, 11, 1/2/8) the evolution in voice timbre becomes more logical, especially with the three 1937 versions taken together. (°) "cantor" or "orchestra singer" as opposed
to the "estribillista" or "refrain singer", here's an excellent article
by Ricardo García Blaya on the history of singing in tango : English
, Spanish-Español
1 (or Spanish-Español
2)
Charlo - Cantor (1937) (from
this CD)
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| EB10 - Lucio Demare "Tango Guapo"
There is a minor problem with the indication of the tracks sung by Juan Carlos Miranda (on the CD : track 8, "Vieja Ribera" and track 12, "Mañana Zarpo Un Barco"). Track 8 is by Raúl Berón. Not tracks 8 & 12 but track 1 ("Al Compás de un Tango") & 12 are by Juan Carlos Miranda. More seriously, I don't believe that the version of "Malena" on this
CD is sung by Roberto Arrieta. To me it sounds to be Juan Carlos Miranda
as well.
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| EB27 - Azucena Maizani "La Ñata Gaucha"
"Grabado en Buenos Aires entre 1928 y 1935" ? OK, let us have a closer look... - Tracks 10, 11, 13 and 16 ('con orquesta', "Lejos de mi tierra", "No sé porqué te quiero tanto", "Descreída", "Amanece") almost certainly are the recordings made with the orchestra of Terig Tucci in New York in 1938, the same orchestra with which Gardel recorded such classics as "Cuesta abajo", "Golondrinas", "Mi Buenos Aires querido", "Por una cabeza", "El dia que me quieras", "Volver" and others (1934-1935). - Tracks 9 and 14 ("En esta soledad", "Liberata") with Vicente Demarco were recorded in 1943. - After tracks 1-6 ('piano y guitarra', which means : with Enrique Delfino, piano and Manuel Parada, guitar, as is track 18, "Llevatelo todo") the voice in track 7, "Copa de ajenjo", sounds different. Very likely this is the recording with Francisco Trópoli, piano & the brothers Del Puerto, guitars, made in 1942, 14 years after the earlier ones, as is track 12, "Nuestra Cita". - Tracks 8 ("Pensalo, muchacho", NOT "Pensalo, mucho" as in EB27, 1931),
15 ("Usted sabe, Señor juez", 1931) and 17 ("No salgas de tu barrio",
in 1931, not 1933) were recorded in Spain. Only "Pensalo, muchacho" was
also recorded in Buenos Aires, in that same year. On the related tracks
19 & 20 ("Monte Criollo" and the second version of "Pero yo sé",
1935 instead of 1934) there seems to be some doubts about the accompaniment
: Cúfaro and Zerillo (acc. to this edition and Todotango) or Enrique
Delfino and Antonio Rodio (acc. to Roberto G. Miglio in his book "El tango
y sus intérpretes")
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| EB34 - Miguel Caló y su Orq. [de las Estrellas]
1941-1945 - "Yo Soy El Tango"
Both Todo Tango (discography of Miguel Caló) and Roberto Miglio (discography of Alberto Podestá in "El Tango Y Sus Interpretes") are clear : some of the tracks with Alberto Podestá on this CD were not recorded in the 40s but much later : 3. Qué Falta Que Me Hacés : 19-04-1963 (instead
of 1941)
and, for the sake of completeness (although the difference with the true recording date remains small) 5. Pedacito De Cielo : 02-09-1942 (instead of 1941)
Alberto Podestá (true name Alejandro Washington Alé) started recording in 1941, with Miguel Caló. His artistic name at that time was Juan Carlos Morel. He recorded 4 titles : besides "Yo Soy El Tango" and "Bajo Un Cielo De Estrellas" on this CD, also "Dos Fracasos" (available on EB92) and "Me Casé Con Un Sargento". He left at the end of 1941, joined Carlos Di Sarli briefly, and returned in 1942 to Caló, this time as Alberto Podestá (name given by Di Sarli), recording "Pedacito De Cielo" (track 5). 18-year old Podestá repeated the movement : another brief passage with Di Sarli, and in 1943, another (equally) brief return to Caló, recording "Percal" (track 6). The 1954 recordings (tracks 4, 7 and 8) are the result of another brief cooperation with Miguel Caló. In 1961, Miguel Caló brought together again the former members
of his "Orquesta de las Estrellas" (which had split in 1945) : Armando
Pontier, Enrique Mario Francini, Domingo Federico and Orlando Trípodi
replacing Osmar Maderna (who died in an airplane accident in 1951). This
"reunion orchestra" recorded 12 tangos in 1963 : 4 instrumentals, 4 with
Raúl Berón and 4 with Alberto Podestá, among them
"Qué Falta Que Me Hacés" which appears on this CD.
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| EB60 - Domingo Federico 1944-1949 - "Saludos"
1944-1949 ? It just doesn't sound like that, at least not all of the time. First let us start with the instrumentals.
Finally the tracks with Carlos Vidal.
Interesting detail : of the 'misplaced' themes, two ("A Lo Pirincho"
and "Mansa") are coauthored by Haydee Cardón, the woman that Domingo
Federico meets in 1958. They married and the couple went to live in Rosario.
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| EB80 - Francisco Lomuto - "Amor y Celos"
There are no singers given for track 1 "Nunca Más". They are
the same as for track 12 "Muñequita" : Fernando Díaz and
Alberto Acuña, implying that the recording is from 1931, not 1927
as indicated.
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| EB82 - Pedro Laurenz - "Milonga de mis Amores"
If you are dancing in a milonga in Buenos Aires and your partner suddenly says : "Hey, that's my daddy", don't turn your head to see who just entered. The one referred to may be as well the one who is singing the lyrics of the music you are dancing to. This story was recently told at one of the TodoTango forums in relation to Juan Carlos Casas, extensively covered on this volume. But this couple wasn't dancing to "Abandono", track 2, as, unlike El Bandoneon claims, the vocalist is Héctor Farrel, not Juan Carlos Casas. Héctor Farrel also recorded with Laurenz "La Milonga de mis Amores" (which seems to be better known as the instrumental version, track 20 on this CD) and the ranchera "Enamorado". Together with "Arrabal" (track 1 on this CD) these 4 themes were the first recordings by Pedro Laurenz as a director, in 1937, for RCA Víctor. Amazing, as Pedro Laurenz was already directing his own orchestra since 1934 and was very popular. Neither was this couple dancing to "Al verla pasar", track 12. Again
not Juan Carlos Casas, but Martín Podesta. His higher pitched voice
can also be heard on "La vida es una milonga" and on one of the first recordings
of the beautiful wals "Flores del alma" (1942), both with Pedro Laurenz.
By the way, Martín Podesta (true name Fidel Martin Carrouche) is
not related to that other Laurenz vocalist Alberta Podestá (true
name Alejandro Washington Alé).
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| EB87 - Adolfo Carabelli 1931-1933 - "Cuatro Palabras"
I find it hard to believe that Charlo sings "Tomala Con Soda" (Track
18). Sounds more like Carlos Lafuente to me...
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| EB95 - Edgardo Donato 1935-1942 - "A Media Luz"
Christoph (from Austria) informs us that on track 18, "Un Libro", the vocalist is Horacio Lagos and not Romeo Gavio, as mentioned on the CD. In relation to Romeo Gavio it is worth mentioning that this is the same
person as the Uruguayan violinist and orchestra director Romeo Gavioli
(1912-1957). For some unknown reason, as a vocalist in Donato's orchestra
he used the name Gavio (it barely qualifies as a pseudonym ;-) ). Some
of his work as a director has been reedited by the Sondor
label.
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| EB109 - Juan D'Arienzo con Alberto Echagüe
- 1939-1952
Track 18, Candombe Oriental (1941), remains a bit misplaced in this
collection as the singer is Alberto Reynal, not Alberto Echagüe.
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| EB110 - Angel D'Agostino & Angel Vargas
- "Yo soy de Parque Patricios" (1941-1946)
Mike Lavocah informs us that track
14, "Un Copetín" is not the recording made with Angel Vargas (in
1941) but a later recording with Rubén Cané, from 1952.
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| EB123 - Homenaje a La Guardia Vieja del Tango
: Banda Municipal de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (1908-1909)
An interesting CD of surprisingly good sound quality.
("Cosa Buena, Linda y Barata" - "Something good, nice and cheap", was
an imitation of the sales cry of the Turks at the market. Thanks to Angel
Yonadi for this information)
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| EB128 - Homenaje a La Guardia Vieja del Tango
: Quinteto Criollo El Aleman (1913), Quinteto Criollo Tano Genaro (1914)
Buy 20, get 21 ! Indeed, this CD contains one more track than indicated
on the sleeve.
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"Evita's Tango" (©1996), a very good compilation with a cheap title, a joint production by Milan Sur (known from their Piazzolla CDs) and BMG Argentina (which owns the RCA Víctor catalog). According to the documentation accompanying the CD there are 3 tracks by Roberto Goyeneche :
Track 18 is by Angel Vargas (with his orchestra directed by Edelmiro D'Amario, 1955 - RCA Víctor). Track 19 is by Edmundo Rivero (with accompaniment of Anibal Troilo, 1949 - RCA Víctor). BMG Argentina should have known..., shouldn't they ? "Francisco Canaro : Ojos Negros", from Magenta (n°
9053), an Argentinian label. If we have to believe the guys from
Magenta, all tracks were recorded in 1928 or 1938. Very funny, the CD includes
also "Bandoneón Arrabalero" with Isabel de Grana, "from 1928" :
Isabel de Grana was born in 1930 ;-)))
1) Pájaro Azul [1928] : 1964
What if we read the years supplied by Magenta as "years of composition"?
In some cases we seem to get closer, but, apart from being unusual, it
still would not fit all : "Vibraciones del alma" was already recorded in
1916, "Milonga Con Variaciones" was already recorded in 1927, "A la Gran
Muñeca" goes back as far as 1919 (as part of a stage play) etc...
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